About This Data
The total number of all housing units is a statistic derived from the Housing
Vacancy Survey, which is a supplement to the Current Population Survey.
A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a group of rooms, or a
single room occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living
quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants do
not live and eat with other persons in the structure and which have
direct access from the outside of the building or through a common hall.
Number of Housing Units in Structure. A structure is a separate building which either has open space on all four sides or is separated from other structures by dividing walls that extend from ground to roof. In double houses, row houses, and houses attached to nonresidential structures, each building is a structure if the common wall between them goes from ground to roof. Sheds and private garages which adjoin houses are not counted as separate structures. In apartment developments, each building with open space on all sides is considered a separate structure. The count of housing units in a structure is the total number of units in the structure, both occupied and vacant units. In the tabulations, occupied mobile homes or trailers, tents, and boats are included in the category one housing unit in structure.
Foreclosures may be in any of the housing stock categories on Table 3
(Estimates of the Total Housing Inventory for the United States) of the
press release. They could still be occupied by the owner, or still be
occupied by the renter, making them "owner occupied" or "renter
occupied", respectively.
They could also be vacant and available for sale or for rent. If the
unit is classified as "vacant for sale only", it will be included in the
"vacant for sale" category. If the unit is for rent or "for sale OR
rent, " it will be included in the "vacant for rent" category.
Many foreclosures will be in the "vacant other" category, because they
are neither for sale or for rent - they are still in the foreclosure
process and tied up in legal proceedings, or being held off the market
until the legal owner of the property decides what to do. In addition,
it is possible the unit could be undergoing repair for future use. Also
included in the "vacant other" category are units "for occasional use"
and units "temporarily occupied by persons with usual residence
elsewhere", both of which may contain foreclosures. Foreclosures could
also be included in the seasonal category, depending on the specific
situation.
In conclusion, foreclosed properties may appear in all of the housing unit categories, not just the "vacant for sale" category
Geographic regions. The four major regions of the United States for
which data are presented in this report represent groups of States as
follows:
Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.
Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
South: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas.
West: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington.
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